SonoSite and GE resolve ultrasound patent lawsuit
2 August 2008
SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO) has announced that a lawsuit filed
against it by General Electric Company (GE) has been resolved. Following
the trial court’s summary judgment rulings on July 24, 2008 the parties
agreed to dismiss the remaining claims, thereby resolving the entirety
of the case in the district court and negating the need for a trial. The
parties have retained their rights to appeal the trial court’s decisions
of last week.
GE filed the lawsuit against SonoSite on May 15, 2007 alleging that
SonoSite infringed six GE patents relating to ultrasound technology.
SonoSite denied infringement and counterclaimed, alleging that GE
infringed four of its ultrasound patents and that GE’s patents were
invalid.
In last week’s rulings, Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in SonoSite’s
favour on five of the six patents that GE had asserted. The court ruled
that one of GE’s patents is invalid and that SonoSite products do not
infringe the other four GE patents. The court also ruled in GE’s favour
on two of SonoSite’s patents finding that GE did not infringe those two
patents. At that time, the court did not rule on the two remaining
SonoSite patents and one remaining GE patent.
“We are very pleased with the successful disposition of this case,”
said Kevin M. Goodwin, SonoSite President and CEO. “We have always
believed that GE’s allegations of patent infringement were baseless and
without merit and the trial court’s July rulings confirmed that. As with
this first lawsuit, we strongly believe that there is no legal basis for
a second lawsuit that GE filed against us this year in May. We will
proceed firmly ahead to defend our legal rights.”